Washington, DC – A recently released, highly critical oversight report on the
Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) detention practices since September 11, 2001,
underscores what immigration advocates have long charged: the DOJ has
confused immigrants with terrorists, and in the process has ignored our laws,
invented its own, and wasted our precious resources. The Inspector
General’s (IG’s) 239-page report provides many details: immigrants were
held without being charged for long periods of time, denied bond, prevented from
obtaining counsel, and physically and verbally abused.

The report highlights that the DOJ, in its quest to find terrorists, did not
distinguish between persons who were part of an investigation and any other
individuals encountered ‘incidentally.’ Thus, innocent persons were
incarcerated for lengthy periods of time, with no access to counsel, to family
members, or to representatives of their country of origin. In fact, the
IG’s report notes that, even when presented with information that detainees were
not terrorists but, rather, immigrants who either were undocumented or had
technical violations, the DOJ still denied them bond, keeping many locked up for
months in federal prisons.

“America is a nation of laws for a reason: to ensure that the passions
of the moment do not overrun the rights and freedoms that are the bedrock of our
nation. This report’s findings reaffirm the need for the rule of
law. The IG’s report concludes that even taking into consideration the
events of September 11th, the actions taken by the DOJ cannot be fully
explained,” noted Butterfield.

“The DOJ needs to stand up, explain what it did, and take
responsibility. The agency’s actions threaten our fundamental
Constitutional guarantees and protections that set our nation apart from
others. Our government must not trample on the Constitution and on those
basic rights and protections that make American democracy so unique,” asserts
Butterfield.

“The disregard for the rule of law shown by DOJ leadership is
reprehensible. These are our nation’s top lawyers. Their job is to
ensure that the law is followed. Yet the incarceration of individuals not
implicated in the terrorist attacks directly violates the law. AILA calls
upon the Bush Administration to ensure that the agency entrusted with making
sure the law is followed, itself follows the law,” concludes Butterfield.

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Founded in 1946, AILA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides
its Members with continuing legal education, information, and professional
services. AILA advocates before Congress and the Administration and provides
liaison with the INS and other government agencies. AILA is an Affiliated
Organization of the American Bar Association.